Katie’s Smith’s Journey to Finding her Place and Purpose with The Shepherd Hotel’s Restaurant

For people with disabilities, work can provide income, access to independent living, and a significant source of meaning and purpose. But finding a place where you can work, live, and thrive is not easy. It takes a lot of factors coming together to seamlessly to create an optimum situation – a kind of sweet spot – that meets all the criteria. This is the story of how Katie Smith found her sweet spot in Clemson.

Katie is 47 years old. She was born with Turner Syndrome, a rare genetic condition affecting females that impacts development and leads to various physical and health differences. As a baby, Katie struggled with feeding difficulties that resulted in frequent hospitalizations. Because Turner Syndrome impacts growth, Katie has always been noticeably smaller than her peers, which sometimes led to teasing. She also struggles with recognizing social cues, a challenge compounded by significant hearing loss that developed in her late twenties.

Despite these challenges, Katie was determined to go to college. She worked hard in high school to transition out of special education classes, and her persistence paid off. She graduated and, three years later, earned her associate’s degree from North Greenville University in Travelers Rest, SC.

After college, inspired by her love for children, Katie began working in daycare. But six years later the special challenges she faced in the daycare setting led Katie to make a difficult decision—to leave a career she loved. Without a job, Katie lived with her mother, Phyllis, in a rural part of Blythewood, SC, too far from town for even Uber access. As someone who doesn’t drive, that meant Katie rarely left the house on her own. While she loved being with her mother, without friends of her own or even a church community, Katie found herself disconnected from her peers and her purpose.

Everything began to change in 2016, when Katie moved to Charlotte, NC to help Shaw Hipsher, a family friend. Shaw’s mother was battling metastatic Stage 4 breast cancer. Katie had known Shaw her whole life, but they hadn’t spent much time together after childhood. The two rekindled their friendship, and Shaw observed a remarkable transformation in Katie: “She really came alive helping me care for my mother. I felt it was because she finally had a way she could be helpful; she had a purpose.”

For the first time in years, Katie was needed, and it felt really good. But it was short-lived. Sadly, Shaw’s mother died, and Katie returned home. Then, in 2019, Katie suffered an aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition with only a 1% survival rate. Shaw took time off of work to help her friend. “She never left my side the whole time,” recalls Katie. Thankfully, Katie beat the odds and recovered, and Shaw had a renewed desire to return her friend to a life of meaning and purpose.

Shaw started a new job at Clemson University in 2020, and she began looking for opportunities to connect Katie to her new community. She reached out to ClemsonLIFE, but Katie had already completed an associate’s degree and had aged out of the program. Shaw sighs, “Katie is ‘in-between.’ There just aren’t that many programs for people like her, despite her obvious potential.”

Then, one day in July 2024, Shaw was sitting at Delish Sisters when Marcus Wooten, one of the restaurant’s friendliest servers, came over to chat. He noticed that she was distracted, and Shaw confessed what had been weighing on her mind: “I’m just thinking about my friend Katie – she has the biggest heart for helping. I wish she could find purposeful work like what you’ve found here, Marcus.” Marcus’ response was immediate and practical: “Well, why doesn’t she just move and get a job here?” Shaw began listing the multitude of obstacles: there was the issue of housing, transportation, day-to-day support, and numerous other concerns – when Marcus interrupted with sage advice: “Let’s go talk to Ansley Minor.”

Their timing proved perfect, and Shaw now points to it as a “God-driven moment.” Ansley, who plays a critical role in working with the team and managing the restaurant, had some exciting news to share: “You know what’s funny? Someone just called me this morning and told me about a program coming to Clemson called Best Buddies Living – it’s for adults with disabilities, helping them reach independent living. It’s perfect for someone like Katie.”

Shaw reached out right away and learned that Best Buddies Living was part of an organization founded in 1989 by Anthony Shriver for friendship and advocacy for people with disabilities. Their residential program was launched in 2019 to create an ideal environment for adults with disabilities to live independently. The new Clemson chapter includes eight residents in total, with four men and four women in separate houses, and provides much-needed structure including weekly social events and bi-weekly check-ins to help residents set and reach personal goals such as budgeting, learning bus routes, or extracurricular activities.

Suddenly everything started coming together quickly. Just three months later, in September 2024, Katie moved and began working at Delish Sisters. It had been more than a decade since Katie had a real job, and she was nervous. Even still, she aimed to prove herself through hard work and dedication to her job.

It quickly became obvious to the team at the restaurant that Katie was going to thrive in her new role. Charlie Metcalfe, one of the managers, describes the restaurant’s unique hiring process: “We don’t hire for experience – every person we hire – we look for heart. You can teach anyone anything in hospitality, but you can’t teach a good heart.” Katie has a lot of heart, and Charlie realized that she just needed a little love and support to thrive.

The restaurant utilizes several strategies to help their staff flourish in their roles. First is the goal to “Always try to do better than we did yesterday.” This motivates the team and reminds them that even when mistakes happen, tomorrow is a new day. It’s really important to reassure staff that we have confidence in them, and we are proud of them,” explains Charlie. “At the same time, we would be doing everyone a disservice if we didn’t coach them with ‘feed forward’ not feedback.” The team also uses Super Power Cards: goals they want team members to focus on each day. For Katie, her Super Power Card focused on patience with herself, and it has really helped her to work past some of her hearing challenges.

Another key strategy for success is celebrating individual differences. “The whole staff is very intentional about observing what people need. Managing staff can’t see everything all the time, so we rely on all the staff to be looking out for one another,” Charlie says.

Initially, Katie worked non-stop, worried she would fall behind and get overwhelmed, but with the support of the team she has developed the confidence to ask for help and the self-awareness to take needed breaks.

Because of these intentional strategies, Katie’s transformation has been remarkable. “When Katie walks in the door, her drive and focus are infectious; she elevates the whole staff,” Charlie observes. “She wants to help, and she wants everybody to feel less stressed. She wants to unburden her whole team. It’s not just her work ethic; it’s her whole heart. She has become an incredible asset to our team.”

Katie’s life today looks dramatically different from just one year ago. She now lives independently and has great relationships with others, including Shaw, her oldest and dearest friend. Her mother’s relative proximity (Phyllis lives a couple of hours away) allows the two to visit regularly. A volunteer with Fort Hill Presbyterian Church’s youth group, Katie spends evenings surrounded by the children she loves. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting greeting cards which, one day, she hopes to sell at The Shepherd Hotel. Katie has even embarked on new adventures: learning to navigate the CAT bus system around Clemson and attending the Best Buddies Leadership Conference in Indianapolis.

Part of Katie’s success is due to insightful framework that Charlie uses to help his team identify what they are good at and what they enjoy. He calls it “finding the sweet spot of service” – that perfect intersection where an employee’s natural abilities align with delightful work to create excellent performance. Beginning with The Shepherd Hotel and extending into the broader Clemson community through the Best Buddies program, Katie has finally found her sweet spot for life.